Battle Royale: The Beginning of the End
by Kee-Chayne
Summary: On indefinite hiatus. Three years ago, the students of Kobe Junior High School were taken to an island and told to do the unthinkable. Kill each other. The story of Kawada Shogo and the girl he loved, Keiko.
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note**

Before you start reading this I will warn you now that parallels between this story and Houshun Takami's work DO exist. These parallels were put there ON PURPOSE.

The story is mostly based on the movie, with some aspects taken from the novel.

Right, I'm done now. Read on, and enjoy. : 3

* * *

Third Year Class C, Kobe Junior High School, Kobe, Kagawa Prefecture  
Student List

MALES:

1. Aizawa Minoru

2. Aoki Kazuma

3. Arakawa Tadayuki

4. Asari Yoshio

5. Funaki Yutaka

6. Goto Masao

7. Hideki Saburo

8. Hiraoka Mitsuru

9. Inoue Ichisake

10. Itagaki Hiro

11. Kawada Shogo

12. Kawagishi Seishiro

13. Kawai Noboru

14. Kuramoto Daisuke

15. Masudu Shohei

16. Niijima Tomoaki

17. Nozaki Keisuke

18. Saionji Yamato

19. Takemitsu Shingen

20. Yoshifumi Takeru

FEMALES:

1. Akimoto Sayuri

2. Fujikage Himiko

3. Harada Hitomi

4. Hayashida Kaoru

5. Ichiyusai Masako

6. Iesada Chiaki

7. Kawasaki Ai

8. Kihara Etsuko

9. Kitano Kanako

10. Koizumi Chiyo

11. Miyamoto Fuyumi

12. Miyazaki Sakura

13. Omura Yumiko

14. Onuki Keiko

15. Sakai Emiko

16. Sakurai Saeki

17. Shimizu Kaede

18. Takezawa Kyoko

19. Takezawa Sachiko

20. Yamamura Akane

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

The bus rumbled down the highway, past numerous checkpoints guarded by armed soldiers, the mechanical whir of helicopters passing overheard. Pretty much the entire nation of the Great East Asian Republic resembled this highway, resembled a warzone.

The thirty junior high school students inside the bus couldn't care less. They were far too excited for the annual class trip, which this year would be a week at the Aoi Campgrounds on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea. Two weeks of sun, sand, and surf before graduation, before they all left for high school and went on with their lives.

Who could be bothered with the country's problems—problems that weren't theirs to fix, at any rate—with such a prospect before them?

Kawada Shogo (Male Student No. 11) felt content to just lean back and watch one of his best friends, Itagaki Hiro (Male Student No. 10) horse around. He was, once again, hassling his long-time crush, Miyazaki Sakura (Female Student No. 12). Sakura was a cute girl. She also blushed far too easily, making her a prime target for class clown Itagaki Hiro's teasing antics.

"Come on, Miyazaki-san, I'm not kidding," said Hiro seriously. "Funaki really does have a crush on you."

Sakura, who sat right in front of Shogo and across from Hiro, pretended nonchalance, but the two pink spots on her cheeks gave her away. "Stop teasing me, Itagaki-kun," she chastised him. "Funaki-san does _not_ have a crush on me."

Sakura, although she did not know it, was right. Funaki Yutaka (Male Student No. 5), who sat in the very front with the so-called 'math geeks' of the class, did not like Sakura, but instead liked his fellow math geek, Yamamura Akane (Female Student No. 20). This was most unfortunate for Sakura, who had a crush on Funaki.

This, Hiro already knew, which was why he was teasing Sakura about it.

"How did Hiro find out who Miyazaki's crush is, anyway?" Shogo asked his seatmate, Nozaki Keisuke (Male Student No. 17), who was also another one of his close friends.

Keisuke grinned and replied, "Shogo, my man, let me tell you something about our lovely Fujikage Himiko that Hiro found out a long time ago." Fujikage Himiko (Female Student No. 2) was the self-proclaimed 'gossip queen' of their school, and also a good friend of Sakura's. "You scratch her back, she scratches yours."

Hayashida Kaoru (Female Student No. 4), who sometimes hung out with Shogo and his friends, suddenly pulled herself up on her seat and glared at Keisuke. "Itagaki's not sleeping with Himiko-chan, is he?" she asked suspiciously, injecting herself into the discussion.

Keisuke's eyes flashed with outrage. "Oi, Hayashida, were you part of this conversation?"

"Don't get your boxers in a twist, Nozaki," growled Kaoru. "Just be warned—if Hiro's sleeping with Himiko-chan and he ends up hurting her…well…" Kaoru trailed off, trying to think up a suitable threat. "Well, Keiko-chan has a mean right hook," she finally said.

Keisuke grimaced. It was true; Onuki Keiko (Female Student No. 14), a member of Kaoru's group and Fujikage Himiko's best friend, did indeed have a mean right hook. Shogo had seen her use it the few times she'd lost her temper—like with that cocky Matsuyama girl from Class B who tried to bully an underclassman into giving up her lunch money. Keiko was definitely not above using it on a guy who she felt had hurt her friends—even a guy she was okay with, like Nozaki Keisuke.

"As if," Keisuke finally said. "Hiro? Sleeping with anyone? Puh-lease. He just promised to set up Fujikage with either Shogo or Arakawa in exchange for stuff about Miyazaki."

Shogo sighed exasperatedly. Typical, he thought. He and Arakawa Tadayuki (Male Student No. 3) were widely regarded as the handsomest students in their year—some said they were the handsomest students in Kobe Junior High. Girls went ape-shit crazy so often around the two that, for a while, they both considered enlisting Himiko's help in spreading a rumor that they were gay…but then they realized the rabid fangirls would be speedily replaced by rabid fan_boys_, so they trashed that idea.

Never mind the fact that Shogo himself already had a crush on someone. This crush was none other than Onuki Keiko, who sat behind Kaoru, beside a sleeping Kitano Kanako. (To his regret, Shogo hadn't yet confessed to Keiko his feelings, but this was a problem he hoped to rectify during their class trip.) There were prettier girls in class, certainly, but there was something so utterly distinctive about Keiko. She was…something real.

Tadayuki, who was seated opposite Shogo and Keisuke, suddenly looked up at the mention of his name.

"Someone call me?" he asked drowsily.

"Nah, Tada-kun, you can go back to sleep," said Saionji Yamato (Male Student No. 18), who was seated beside Tadayuki. "Hayashida and Keisuke were just gossiping about how Hiro bargained away dating rights to you and Shogo for info on Miyazaki."

"Oh. What else is new?" muttered Tadayuki.

"Very funny," said Shogo, rolling his eyes.

Yamato watched Hiro and shook his head. "Love-struck idiot," he muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Hayashida Kaoru had slid back into her seat to whisper to her best friend, Koizumi Chiyo (Female Student No. 10). Chiyo and Kaoru both had crushes on Tadayuki, and were discussing how best to circumvent Himiko's plan of getting Tadayuki for herself.

"I don't get what the problem is," said Keiko, who had overheard Chiyo and Kaoru's muttering. "So what if Hiro-kun sets up Himiko-chan with Tada-kun? Is there even a guarantee that Tada-kun will like her back?"

"Easy for you to say," grumbled Chiyo. "We all know Kawada-kun's crazy about you."

Keiko flushed and shook her head. "Don't be silly, Chiyo," she chastised her. "Shogo-kun and I are just friends."

Shogo couldn't help himself. He grinned. Keiko's friends didn't know it yet, but their friendly ribbing was actually the truth.

He had no idea what was it exactly about Keiko that he liked so much. She was friendly and cheerful, tough and assertive when she needed to be, but most of her friends were like that. She was quirky, funny, and very smart. Nothing out of the ordinary. Yet there was something so uniquely disarming about her that had, over time, utterly charmed Shogo.

"Why does Hiro want info on Miyazaki anyway?" Shogo heard Yamato ask, his voice puzzled.

Arakawa Tadayuki, who had been listening to the whole exchange ever since Keisuke had mentioned his name and roused his attention, said, "Honestly, Yamato, you are so dense. Isn't it obvious? Itagaki's got the hots for Miyazaki."

"Really?"

Keisuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he said. "_Really_. Itagaki's a wimp. A funny wimp, but a wimp nonetheless. Who do you think he's gonna get the hots for, besides the shyest girl in our class? Akimoto?"

Shogo laughed at the thought of Class C's resident Ice Queen, Akimoto Sayuri (Female Student No. 1) ending up together with Itagaki Hiro, who was quite probably the most awkward person on earth around girls. Sayuri made men's balls freeze with her icy stare and sharp words, while Hiro couldn't even speak to a girl (besides Kaoru's group) without stammering, blushing, and in general making a fool of himself.

"So…let me get this straight. Hiro likes Miyazaki and so he's teasing her about liking Funaki?" asked Shogo. Tadayuki, Yamato, and Keisuke nodded. "Anybody seeing the logic here?" Shogo asked.

"Yes, actually," said Tadayuki, nodding. "It's the very same logic that explains why Keisuke over here feels the need to antagonize Hayashida so much."

"What was that, Arakawa?" said Keisuke, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"You heard me," replied Tadayuki, grinning challengingly. "You've got the hots for Hayashida, don't you?"

Keisuke scowled. "Oh yeah? What about you? You're the one who…" He trailed off then.

Tadayuki smirked. "Yes, Keisuke, continue. Who exactly have I got 'the hots' for, eh?"

Shogo had to laugh. Tadayuki was Class C's resident playboy—third year's resident playboy, as a matter of fact. He didn't get crushes on girls, girls got crushes on _him_. He tended to keep his relationships on the one-night stand side of the line, and he was fond of saying that anything beyond that complicated matters. As his friends always joked, Tadayuki was always more interested in a girl's boobs than in her face.

"Don't laugh at me, Shogo, we all know you've got the hots for Onuki," said Keisuke sourly.

"Yeah? And so what? At least I'm man enough to admit it…and man enough to actually talk to her instead of teasing her like Hiro and Miyazaki, or pissing her off like you do with Hayashida." Forgetting that he actually hadn't _confessed_ to her yet, but whatever.

"Whaaaat? For the last time, I do not have a crush on Hayashida!" spluttered Keisuke, who was turning red.

"Denial," said Tadayuki, shaking his head sorrowfully. "Not just a river in Egypt."

But Shogo had ceased to pay attention to Tadayuki and Yamato harassing Keisuke, because Keiko had stood up and was walking down the aisle between the seats, gently guiding Fujikage Himiko to the front of the bus. Himiko looked nauseated. Her face was pale, and she had one hand pressed to her mouth.

"Keiko-san?" he asked, hoping his tone was one of casual inquiry. "Is something wrong?"

Keiko smiled at him warmly. "Himiko's feeling a bit dizzy. I'm going to ask Ando-sensei if she can switch seats with someone at the front, and if he's got some medicine she could take."

"Do you need help?" Tadayuki asked her. He had once tried to seduce Keiko, but she didn't fall for it (much to Shogo's relief). She was, actually, one of the very few girls to refuse Tadayuki's advances. Instead, the two had become quite good friends, to the envy of Keiko's friends (almost all of them considered Shogo off-limits because they all believed—and rightly so, but he wasn't going to tell them that—that he liked Keiko).

Keiko shook her head. "No, it's all right, Tada-kun," she said. "But thank you anyway." She continued on her way, Himiko leaning slightly against her.

Tadayuki and Yamato returned to annoying Keisuke with his supposed crush on Hayashida, leaving Shogo to study Keiko. She was very pretty—short dark brown hair, almond-shaped hazel eyes, a captivating smile. Her good looks coupled with her outgoing nature had made her one of the most popular girls in their school. As Shogo had thought to himself earlier, she was by no means the prettiest girl in class—Hayashida was probably prettier than her.

But, as Tadayuki had once told him, "To each his own."

"Hey, guys!" Keiko called, bringing Shogo out of his thoughts. She was trailing her way down the aisle back to her seat. "I made some cookies for me and Himiko to share—but Himiko's now too sick to eat and Kaoru and Chiyo are both on this silly diet." She playfully stuck her tongue out at her friends, who laughed and shook their heads. "Want some?"

"Yeah!" cheered Keisuke, who loved food in any and all forms. "Thanks, Keiko-san!"

Keiko returned to her seat and came back with a Tupperware filled with golden-brown cookies speckled with chocolate chips. She popped off the cover and held it out for Shogo, Tadayuki, and Keisuke. "Hey, Yamato-kun, Hiro-kun, Saki-chan, Kanako, come eat with us!" she called out to Yamato, Hiro, her seatmate Kitano Kanako, and Sakura.

Shogo leaned back in his seat while munching on a cookie and studied the rest of his classmates. The knowledge that he'd seldom see this people again after graduation was a bit disconcerting, but Shogo supposed he'd get through it. In the meantime, he would try to fill up his mind with memories of his classmates.

Up front were the 'math geeks', Funaki Yutaka, Yamamura Akane, the male class representative Aoki Kazuma (Male Student No. 2), Goto Masao (Male Student No. 6), and Iesada Chiaki (Female Student No. 6). Not all of them were 'math geeks'. They were all actually just kids who cared a lot about things like studying and grades, and were rather amused by the label that had been applied to them. As a matter of fact only Funaki and Akane were real geniuses at math. Everyone else in the group had their own specialties.

Right behind them, Ichiyusai Masako (Female Student No. 5) and Kuramoto Daisuke (Male Student No. 14) were cozy together in their own little world. Daisuke and Masako were the most intimate couple in third year. Not even the jock Kawai Noboru (Male Student No. 13) and his girlfriend from Class B, sexy cheerleader Matsuyama Junko, with their frequent PDA and even more frequent breakups 'n' make-ups, could compare.

Speaking of Kawai Noboru, he and his jock buddies were seated at the very back of the bus. Aizawa Minoru (Male Student No. 1), Takemitsu Shingen (Male Student No. 19), Yoshifumi Takeru (Male Student No. 19), and Ito Seishiro (Male Student No. 11). Kawai and Takemitsu were on the basketball team like Tadayuki and Shogo were, while Ito, Aizawa, and Yoshifumi were on the baseball team. Despite being on the sports teams of Kobe Junior High, neither Shogo's group nor Kawai's group ever hung out together. Kawai Noboru was an arrogant ass, and his friends weren't much different.

Well, not all of them, Shogo mused. Yoshifumi Takeru could be a really sweet guy when Kawai and his jocks weren't around. Shogo had seen him help Kitano Kanako (Female Student No. 9) out of a stall in the girls' bathroom where Akimoto and her girls had locked her in. Or maybe Takeru just had a thing for the timid, quiet girl.

Akimoto and her girls…ah, yes. There they were, sitting with Kawai and the others: Akimoto Sayuri (Female Student No. 1), Harada Hitomi (Female Student No. 3), Takezawa Kyoko, Takezawa Sachiko, and Sakai Emiko (Female Student No. 15). All of them were mean, spiteful, and petty, and of course they were drop-dead gorgeous. But none was as mean, spiteful, petty, or gorgeous as Akimoto Sayuri, the self-proclaimed 'Queen Bee' of the school.

Oh, Kaoru's group. They were the 'neutrals', the girls who were just themselves and tried not to be too limited to one clique. There was of course the pretty female class rep Kaoru, and her friends Chiyo and the gossipy Himiko, the shy girls Kitano Kanako and Miyazaki Sakura, and outgoing Kihara Etsuko, and of course Onuki Keiko, both model students and excellent athletes.

These were the relatively normal students, the sorts of kids you find in high schools all over the world, even in the high schools of a country as dysfunctional as the Greater East Asian Republic (although Shogo would never use the 'dysfunctional' to describe the country in public—it was like a mouse announcing to a cat, "Hey, here I am!").

But there were also the students you _didn't_ find in every high school, the students who weren't really all that _normal_.

There was Kawagishi Akihisa (Male Student No. 12) and his group of thugs, Hideki Saburo (Male Student No. 7), Niijima Tomoaki (Male Student No. 16), Masudu Shohei (Male Student No. 15), Omura Yumiko (Female Student No. 13), and Sakurai Saeki (Female Student No. 16). There were all sorts of rumors floating around the school about Kawagishi's gangsters.

Some thought they dealt with local Yakuza, taking them out of action and establishing their rule in the city as early as junior high. Some thought Kawagishi was pimping Omura and Sakurai. Still others thought that through blackmail, coercion, and extortion Kawagishi's gang not only had the Yakuza in the palms of their hands, but also local politicians and government officials.

Shogo shook his head. Whatever. As long as their activities didn't directly affect him, his family, or his friends, he really couldn't care less how badly they screwed up their lives.

He turned his attention back to his friends as Hayashida Kaoru pulled out her Polaroid camera and began snapping pictures. She was a photography buff, Shogo remembered.

Ordinarily Shogo wouldn't have wanted to be caught in Kaoru's picture-taking frenzy, but in her hurry to get up she accidentally knocked Keiko backwards, allowing her to fall right into Shogo's lap. Instinctively his arms went out to catch her, and what happened was she ended up seated in his lap with Shogo's arms around her torso.

"Oh, that's so cute!" squealed Kaoru, and quickly took a picture before either Keiko or Shogo could move. She took the piece of photo paper that slid out of her camera and began waving it back and forth, waiting for the picture to appear.

"Sorry, Keiko-san," muttered Shogo, his face red, as he helped Keiko get up.

Keiko was grinning, and trying to be cool about it, but the blush that stained her cheeks gave her away. "No problem, Shogo-kun," she replied.

"Here you go!" said Kaoru happily, handing the picture over. "You two look so adorable together in that shot—so in love, I mean."

Keiko laughed as she studied the picture. "We _do_ look good together, Shogo-kun," she remarked. "Maybe we should go out sometime, huh?"

"Don't say that, Keiko-san. I might have to take you up on that," teased Shogo.

"Oh, Shogo-kun, don't demean yourself so much. Would it really be so terrible to go on one date with you?"

Shogo did not answer, wondering if she was being serious, but merely smiled that bashful grin of his that he always seemed to wear around Keiko.

Hiro rolled his eyes. "And you guys call _me_ a love-struck idiot," he muttered to himself, cramming another cookie into his mouth.

* * *

Shogo slowly opened his eyes.

Outside, the sky was dark. They'd left the school at…what time did they leave? Oh, yeah, five in the afternoon. He groggily lifted his watch and checked the time. Nearly ten o'clock. Huh. So they'd been traveling nearly five hours. Weren't they at the campgrounds yet?

Shogo checked out his classmates. They were all, oddly enough, asleep. Beside him Keisuke was slouching in his seat, and Yamato and Tadayuki were leaning against each other (how cute, thought Shogo, but decided this wasn't the time to tease them). Hiro was slumped over the armrest of his seat, and so was Miyazaki Sakura. Had they fallen asleep while talking?

He knew that some of them, the ones with less stamina or those who simply had nothing better to do, would already be asleep. But Itagaki Hiro, Class C's very own clown? And Arakawa Tadayuki, a flirt through and through who took any opportunity to chat up some ladies? And would Kawagishi and his gang let themselves fall asleep in such a vulnerable place as a high school bus?

Shogo checked. Yes, Kawagishi and company were asleep too.

What the heck was going on here?

Shogo glanced over at the driver, intending on asking him _exactly_ what was happening, but when he tried to stand he found he couldn't will himself to move. Huh, what? Stand. Legs, feet, butt of the seat, it's that easy. What the hell?

That's when he noticed the driver's face. There was a clear plastic mask there, a bit like the oxygen masks in airplanes, only the mask covered the driver's entire face. A tube extended from the mouth and nose area of the mask down to what Shogo supposed was an oxygen tank.

Was something wrong with the bus? Did the AC malfunction, and now it was spitting out carbon monoxide or something instead of cool air? Why weren't they given masks too?

But before Shogo's sluggish brain could process anymore thoughts, his head slowly dropped down until his chin touched his chest, and he fell asleep.

At approximately the same time, the parents of Class C's students were visited by government representatives, bearing documents stamped with the official government seal. Written on those documents were formal declarations that their children's class had been chosen to participate in this year's 'special government program'. The terminology in the documents was dispassionate, neutral, and didn't quite say enough about what was truly in store for the students of Class C.

Most of Class C's parents knew what these documents, what the arrival of these government officials meant, and most accepted their children's fate quietly. These parents took the official documents, bid goodbye to the government representatives, and retreated to the safety of their homes to weep together and comfort each other, and mourn for their children who would surely die.

Others were horrified and raised a fuss, protesting their children's participation in such an event. The luckier parents, those who did not fight _too_ violently, were merely incapacitated with a stun gun and left alone in their homes, unable to move. These parents, when the effects of the stun gun eventually wore off, would get up, close the door rudely left open by the government reps, and continue with their lives, though nothing would ever be the same again.

The less lucky parents could not even do this, because they had no lives to continue. Those who protested violently enough, angrily enough, were killed, neatly and efficiently, with a single shot to the heart, or the head. Instant death. The government representatives bundled the bodies into the homes, curtly informed any remaining siblings of the night's events, and then called an undertaker for the parents who had departed this world before their doomed children even knew of their fate.

**40 students remaining**


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note**

At first, I wanted to wait until I was finished with chapter three to post this chapter…but I couldn't wait any longer. Haha, my bad. xP

Here's where things get a little iffy. I play around a bit with the Battle Royale rules and shiz, and there's a scene here with Keiko that I don't particularly care for, but I can't find any other way to move the story along…so…

-sighs- I'm gonna look back and regret writing that scene, I just know it.

Nanahara's pot lid makes a cameo appearance!

Oh, _yeah!_ The other day I was reading 'How NOT to write Battle Royale fanfiction' by Fomalhaut, and there was something mentioned about all the Program instructors being male and a distinct lack of female instructors, and it caught my attention, so…

I now present my very own female Program instructor! I am rather fond of her. -smiles proudly-

All right, enough with my blabbering. Onward ho, and let the games begin!

**WARNING!** Some foul language, ahoy.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Shogo was the first to wake up.

The students of Class C were sprawled on the floor, fast asleep. Shogo himself had been in the corner, propped up against the wall. Schoolbags and personal belongings were scattered here and there in a haphazard manner. Nobody was awake yet.

What the fuck was going on?

What happened to the class trip? They should have been at the Aoi Campgrounds by now.

Some other members of Class C were beginning to awaken now. He saw Arakawa Tadayuki, Saionji Yamato, and Nozaki Keisuke slowly getting to their feet, but Itagaki Hiro was still sprawled out on the ground. Tadayuki went on his knees and gently shook Hiro. "Hey, man, get up," he was muttering.

"Wha…wha…" murmured Hiro, his eyelids fluttering open. Hiro and Keisuke helped him sit up.

Shogo looked around, trying to determine his location. He was in a classroom, definitely. The lights were turned off, and the windows were boarded up with either plywood or sheet metal (so he couldn't tell whether it was day or night—damn), but he was pretty sure the long, rectangular shape at the very fore of the room was a blackboard, in front of which was what seemed like a teacher's table, and there were school desks pushed off to the sides of the room.

And…was that…a TV…? Huh. How weird.

Shogo lifted his arm to glance at his watch. The glowing digital numbers read 12:30 AM. Unless the watch had been tampered with, it was now very early Friday morning. They'd left Kobe late Thursday afternoon. He couldn't remember being transferred to this place, so they must have done it while the class was asleep.

But before Shogo could ponder this, he felt, wrapped snugly around his neck, a thick metal collar. He touched it carefully and found nothing out of the ordinary, other than the heavy duty electronic lock that kept it fastened around his neck. It felt like a piece of plain jewelry.

Shogo studied his classmates. Were they wearing collars too? Yes, they were.

Panicked murmuring filled the room. Nobody seemed to want to raise their voice above a whisper. Shogo looked around for Keiko and found her groggily getting to her feet, being helped up by Hayashida Kaoru.

"Keiko." He swiftly moved to stand in front of her. Kaoru helpfully disappeared to go help Chiyo and Himiko.

"Shogo." She did not resist as he pulled her into a light embrace. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm okay." Keiko looked around, at their classmates struggling to get up, all of them clearly frightened. She looked back at him, her confusion and slight fear mirroring his own.

Suddenly, the door at the very front of the classroom, right beside the blackboard, which Shogo had not seen (damn it, I should pay more attention, that door could have been our escape!) violently slid open, and the lights were switched on.

A woman, escorted by eight armed soldiers, came into the room. She wore a peach-colored badge that indicated she was a government official. Shogo quietly studied her escorts' weapons, wondering if he could identify them. His father loved to read gun enthusiast magazines bought from smugglers, and when Shogo was bored he would sometimes peruse these magazines.

The soldiers were all carrying M16 assault rifles, and the blades fixed onto the bayonet stud were M9 bayonets from the States.

So much for patriotism…our supposedly great and self-reliant army has to import weapons from America!

But Shogo was sure these were the real thing. Any misbehavior on the students' parts…BLAM. He stiffened and kept his eyes on the government official. She seemed to be waiting for everyone to wake up.

The government official was very pretty, Shogo realized. All the female government officials he'd ever seen had been damn butt-ugly. This one was tall and slender, with shiny chestnut hair that fell to her shoulders, and a face expertly enhanced with makeup. She wore a blue skirt and a white blouse that buttoned up to her neck, black pumps, square-framed glasses perched daintily on her nose.

"All right now, everyone awake?" the woman cheerfully exclaimed. "I hope you all had a nice long nap! You're definitely going to need it."

The woman walked to the front of the classroom, standing right in the very middle. Two of the soldiers flanked her, while the other six guarded the door. "First of all, I am your new instructor. My name is Sato Mariko."

The female class rep, Hayashida Kaoru, raised her hand and stood up. She looked frightened, but determined.

"I don't understand what's going on Sato-sensei," said Kaoru, her voice shaky. "Were we in a traffic accident or something?"

Her words sparked off a volley of more questions.

"Hey, yeah, we were supposed to be on the class trip, right?" shouted Aizawa Minoru.

"Where the hell are we?"

"What time is it?"

"Did you fall asleep too?"

"Who the hell are these guys?"

"Where's Ando-sensei?" That one was Yamamura Akane, who was closest to Class A's teacher.

"What's going on here?"

"All right, all right, please, everyone, let's have some quiet. Thank you for that question, Hayashida-san," said Sato Mariko, nodding politely in Kaoru's direction. "Please calm down and I will explain. Sit down, everyone."

Too afraid not to obey, the students sat on the floor, or on nearby chairs that hadn't been overturned, or on the bare desks. Slowly Keiko sank into a cross-legged position on the ground, never once releasing her grip on Shogo, which forced him to sit down too.

"What an obedient class!" Mariko exclaimed approvingly. She turned back to the board, missing the looks of utter loathing a majority of the class shot her, and wrote in big characters…

_Battle Royale Act_

And underneath that…

_Survival Program_

Mariko turned around once more to face the class. "You all know this law?"

Some looked at the chalkboard with confusion, while others wore expressions of comprehension and horror. But nobody spoke up.

Mariko sighed and shook her head. "Don't they teach anything to kids in schools these days?" she said regretfully. "Ah, never mind. I'll explain. As you all know," she began, "this once-great country's going to the dogs. It's no good anymore. And you know whose fault this is?" She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the students. "It's the fault of today's youth. In other words, you, today's students.

"So, to inspire respect—and fear—for the government, for adults, this law was passed, the Millennium Educational Reform Act, also known as, the Battle Royale Act."

Mariko clasped her hands together and beamed. "That's lesson one!" she exclaimed. "Now, lesson two is this: you guys kill each other off."

Panicked murmuring filled the classroom. A few students smiled hesitantly, as if expecting to be told that this was all a big joke. Their smiles disappeared pretty quickly.

"Until there's only one left," continued Mariko, ignoring the students' frightened muttering. "Nothing's against the rules. The laws for murder don't apply here. Basically, it's kill or be killed."

The panicked murmurs were replaced by stunned, disbelieving silence. There was a rustle as almost everyone instinctively flinched away from Mariko. "This has _got_ to be some sort of joke," Shogo heard Harada Hitomi murmuring.

"I'm afraid this is no joke. Now then, your class will be mentioned in the morning news," said Mariko. "And your parents have already been notified. I'm sorry to say that those parents who resisted…well, let's not dwell on sad details, all right?"

Shogo froze. His father was never one to take government bullshit lying down… Was his father one of the parents to resist? Was he now dead? He felt Keiko stiffen in his arms, and tightened his grip around her. It'll be okay, he wanted to tell her, but knew that if he did, he'd be lying.

"Who was that who asked about your class teacher? You? Was that you? What's your name?"

Akane stood and nodded. "Yamamura Akane. Yes, Sato-sensei. Please. Where is Ando-sensei?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Well…" Mariko rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "Ah, it can't be helped. Your teacher Ando…he, well, he stole from Kurata here"—she indicated the soldier on her left—"a pistol, and he shot himself in the mouth. It made a pretty bloody mess, you know. The cleaning crew isn't going to be happy."

Akane clapped a hand to her mouth and backed away, her eyes filling with tears. Other students were staring at Mariko with horrorstruck expressions. Their teacher, kind, funny Ando-sensei, who had been joking around with the math geeks in the front of the bus, who cared for his students like they were his very own children, was now dead? Impossible! This had to be some sort of macabre nightmare…it had to be!

"He was peaceful enough and didn't protest your participation in the Program, but I guess he couldn't live with the guilt, now could he? That's really too bad. It's always a pity when adults can't serve the government properly. We're supposed to have learned from our past mistakes already, right?" She laughed, but no one laughed with her.

Shogo was shocked when Keiko suddenly raised her hand and stood up.

"Sato-sensei," she said. Neither her voice nor her body shook with fright. The only thing betraying her emotion was her fists, which were clenched so tightly her knuckles were turning white. "My parents are both in Tokyo…my older sister just gave birth there. Nobody's home. Who did you contact?"

"Ah, yes, you must Onuki Keiko. I was warned about you, Onuki-san. They said you came from a dangerous family…ah, well, anyway, we managed to contact your parents in Tokyo. Don't worry."

Keiko's mouth hardened, but she nodded and sat back down. She looked up at Shogo, and he clasped her trembling hands in his, at the same time thinking, dangerous family, what? Keiko smiled weakly at him, but there was no mistaking the terror in her eyes.

"Now then, the rules. I think you guys more or less have the basics of this game down pat," said Mariko. "Your aim here is to be the last student standing—by killing all the other students. The winner goes home with a guaranteed stipend from the government, and a card autographed by the Dictator. Isn't that great?"

Nobody answered.

Shogo wanted to leap to his feet and spit in Mariko's face, but thought—and rightly so—that doing this would get himself shot.

"Now then, time to watch the video. Please try not to fall asleep."

One of the soldiers with Mariko took a remote control from the pocket of his camouflaged trousers, pointed it at the TV, and pressed a button.

The TV blinked to life. The Battle Royale logo, a large red BR surrounded by red laurel leaves, the words 'Battle Royale' and 'Survival Program' above and below it respectively, filled the screen. A cutesy, hyper voiceover, accompanied by equally cutesy, hyper music, proclaimed excitedly, "The right way to fight a Battle Royale, by the BR Act Committee!"

The Battle Royale logo disappeared from the screen to reveal a young girl who looked to be about the students' age. Her short, spiky hair had a pretty psychedelic dye job—red, yellow, orange, and hot pink streaks. She wore a bright yellow t-shirt, camouflage-patterned shorts, combat boots, and lots of gaudy jewelry.

"A big hello to everyone from Class C, Kobe Junior High School," said the girl cheerfully, saluting them all.

Shogo shook his head. This was way beyond screwed up.

"You are the lucky class chosen for this year's Battle Royale! Congratulations!" She spoke like Mariko, like the chance to fight in a Battle Royale was a prize to be won. "Now, I'm going to explain the rules for you. Listen well to fight right and with gusto!"

A 3-D image of an island appeared on the TV screen. The graphics zoomed in on different angles, allowing them to see the topography of the island. "You are on a deserted island that looks like this," said the girl on the TV. "It's got a circumference of about eight kilometers"—she extended her arms in a wide arc—"but we evacuated everyone, so it's empty!"

A crisscrossing grid of lines appeared on top of the image of the island. "The island is divided into many zones like this." The girl indicated the grid. "Every six hours your teacher will broadcast updates—that's four updates a day!—about which zones will become danger zones. If you're in those zones, you should leave quickly, because the danger is…" She trailed off, a little ominous smile playing her lips.

The image of the island disappeared and behind her appeared an image of the collars the students were wearing. "Okay, now about those collars you're wearing!" There was a shuffling noise as several students touched their collars, unaware until now that they were wearing the things. "They're one hundred percent waterproof, shockproof, and of course, permanent! It monitors your pulse, informing us of your location and movements.

"So," she said, her voice rising in pitch, "if you linger in a danger zone or cause trouble, we can identify you, and transmit radio waves that trigger alarms in the collars and…boom! It explodes!"

There were frightened gasps. Those who were fingering their collars immediately let go.

"If you try to rip it off, it explodes too, so promise not to try that, okay?"

Mariko held up a hand, and one of the soldiers pressed another button on the remote, pausing the video. "Okay, everyone. Any questions at this point?"

Everyone was silent, or at least they were, until a sudden outburst erupted from one of the students.

"NO!" Fujigake Himiko suddenly screamed. She stood up, angrily pointing at Mariko. "You bastards! You think we're going to play your sick games like a bunch of dogs?!"

Himiko's friends moved quickly to restrain her. "Hey, Himiko, cut it out!" shrieked Chiyo, pulling on Himiko's school coat so she fell back to the ground.

"Shut up, Fujikage!" screamed Takezawa Kyoko. "We can't hear the video!"

"You're playing into their hands!" shrieked Himiko. She struggled out of Chiyo's grasping hands and aimed a punch at Kyoko's nose. Kyoko screamed and ducked, but Himiko's fist still managed to catch the side of her face.

"We're all playing into their hands!" Himiko shouted. "I'm not having it! I'm not having this!" She raced forward and snatched something from her bag, something that glittered under the harsh fluorescent lights.

"Die, bitch!" she screamed, running towards Mariko. In her hand flashed an open switchblade.

Suddenly Keiko was out of Shogo's arms and on her feet, and before he could stop her she had tackled Himiko. "Himiko, don't!" she screamed, wrestling Himiko for the knife.

"No, Keiko, let me go!" howled Himiko. "We have to end this! Right now!"

"Get a hold of yourself, Himiko!" screamed Keiko. "Give me the knife! Don't be stupid!"

The class erupted into chaos as Keiko struggled to overpower Himiko and take the knife away. The girls were shrieking for Himiko to let go of the knife, while the guys were stopping some of the other girls from joining the fight. Tadayuki and Shogo, who were nearest Keiko and Himiko, hurried to try and separate the two girls, but before they could do anything two of the soldiers had stepped forward and pulled Himiko and Keiko apart.

"Stupid girl," the soldier holding Keiko's wrists muttered as he roughly pushed her into her circle of friends.

"Kei-chan!" cried Kaoru, throwing her arms around Keiko. Chiyo, Sakura, Etsuko, and Kanako quickly grouped themselves around her, blocking her view of Himiko.

"No, no, help Himiko!" sobbed Keiko, trying to free herself from her friends. "Help Himiko!"

The other soldier dragged Himiko, still kicking and screaming, to the front of the classroom. "Be quiet!" he snapped, but whether he it was to the students or Himiko no one was sure.

Mariko sighed. "I hate to do this—you know, every student killed by the instructor is a deduction from their salary. But we _were_ authorized to use force, if deemed necessary." She held out a hand to the soldier she'd previously identified as Kurata, and he passed her a revolver.

It happened quickly. One moment Mariko was holding up Kurata's revolver, pointing it at Himiko, and the next, a loud bang had gone off, and a red stain bloomed on Himiko's blouse. She stood still for a moment, stunned, staring at the scarlet stain on her chest, before falling backward into the cluster of students, clearly dead.

Terrified screams filled the air as everyone scampered backwards, desperate to get away from the corpse—yes, Fujikage Himiko was now nothing but a corpse. Mariko raised her pistol and fired a few shots into the air to quiet the crowd, but even above the noise of her gun everyone could hear Keiko's scream.

"Himiko!"

Keiko finally managed to throw Kaoru's arms off her and crawled to Himiko, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Himiko!" She pressed her face to Himiko's still warm body, unmindful of the blood. "Himiko, Himiko!" she sobbed.

Shogo suddenly remembered that Fujikage Himiko was—had been—Keiko's best friend.

Keiko was still sobbing over Himiko's body. "Nooooo," she moaned. "No, no, no…"

Mariko stepped forward, shaking her head sorrowfully. "Ah, what a waste," she said. "Such a pretty girl. Smart, too. Prepared for anything. Wonder what she thought she might need that switchblade for? Onuki-san…you were her best friend, what do you think?"

Keiko suddenly looked up, her face wet with her tears and Himiko's blood, and her eyes glimmering with hate.

"Hey, Onuki-san, what's that look for, huh?" Mariko drawled. "Show some respect."

Keiko stood, her whole body trembling with rage, revulsion and horror evident in her face. She tried to lunge forward to Mariko, but before she could get very far, Kaoru and Etsuko had grabbed her arms and yanked her back into the crowd of students. She let out a cry of pain as she fell. Shogo pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair, murmuring, "Shh…shh…" Instinctively Keiko leaned her head on his shoulder and continued to sob.

"Keiko, it won't do you or Himiko any good to get shot," Kaoru whispered frantically, tightly gripping Keiko's left hand. "She's dead. There's nothing we can do. Please, calm down."

Breathing noisily through her mouth, Keiko nodded slowly. A shudder went through her body, and she bit her lower lip to try and stifle her sobs. She hadn't yet wiped the blood and tears off her face.

"Okay, let's continue with the movie. Please, no more interruptions." As if someone had just asked for a bathroom break. Shogo gritted his teeth. They were completely and totally at the mercy of a homicidal maniac!

Mariko nodded and turned back to the TV, nodding to the soldier who stood by the TV.

The girl frozen on the screen began to move again. "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!" She let out a merry laugh that was so out of place here. "Silly me. There's a time limit on this game: seventy-two hours. That's exactly three days!" She held out three fingers to demonstrate. "If we haven't got a winner after three days"—her voice turned the sad tone of a little girl who has just lost sight of her favorite doll—"all the collars automatically explode, and no one wins.

"So, as long as we're all here"—her voice became cheerful again—"let's all fight hard to make sure that doesn't happen, okay?" She raised a fist, like she was cheering for a team.

Mariko nodded, and the video paused once more. She walked over to the door and called out, "Hey, I need you guys to come in!"

More soldiers marched inside, wheeling metal racks inside the classroom. From the racks hung several thick army-issue day packs—enough for the entire class. The racks were pushed to the very center of the classroom, right beside Mariko.

Again, the movie began to play.

The girl now had a long gray table before her. Displayed on the table were bottles of water, loaves of bread, a plastic packet containing a map, pencil, watch, and compass, a flashlight, and another one of the drab day packs.

"You'll leave the room one by one," the girl was saying, "but first, you each get a day pack like this one." She indicated the pack on her table. "Inside is food and water, a map and compass, a watch, a flashlight, and a weapon, so check those out later, okay? Ah, the girls might need some personal items, so you can all take your own bags with you.

"Each weapon is different. And it's not just guns and knives either. The weapons are randomly chosen, so maybe you'll get lucky, maybe not. It eliminates natural advantage," the girl explained. She plucked out the weapon from the day pack on the table. It was a pot lid. "Ooh…" she murmured sympathetically. "This one's not too lucky, eh?"

The picture jumped, and then the table was gone. "Okay, you'll be leaving by class number!" she cheerily proclaimed. "When I call your name, I want to here a nice, big 'Here!' Step forward, claim your day pack, and you may leave the premises. Anyone loitering in the hall will be punished. Ah, yes! My, I'm so forgetful today! Thirty minutes after you leave, this school will become a danger zone, so you should all get out of here as fast as you can, all right? You should be at least…let me see…two hundred meters away. Got that? All right!

"Okay, here we go! Male Student No. 1, Aizawa Minoru-kun."

"H-Here!" Minoru's voice was shaky, and he glanced back fearfully at his classmates as he ran to collect his bag and day pack, stumbling out of the classroom. He began screaming hysterically as he ran down the hallway outside, his screams getting fainter as he got further away.

So much for being a tough jock.

At this point Shogo remembered that Keiko's student number was fourteen—three numbers away from him. Was it safe to wait outside for her? The video girl did mention that anyone loitering in the hall would be punished (Shogo assumed it meant that anyone loitering in the hall would be shot). But she didn't say anything about waiting outside the school building. And anyway, he had thirty minutes before the school turned into a danger zone.

"Female Student No. 1, Akimoto Sayuri-san."

"Here," said Sayuri coolly. She slowly rose and sauntered forward, her arm unfolding like a swan's neck to take her bag from its place on the floor. She accepted her day pack from the soldiers, smiled flirtatiously at Kurata, and left the classroom.

While the next student ("Male Student No. 2, Aoki Kazuma-kun," said the video girl) was collecting his things, Shogo noticed something. Akimoto's girls all wore alarmingly reassured looks on their faces, like the looks they had when some poor boy had just been conned into buying them all lunch.

Was Akimoto Sayuri planning escape with her group? Or were Sakai Emiko, Harada Hitomi, Takezawa Kyoko, and Takezawa Sachiko dead meat?

Shogo figured Sayuri was cold enough to do just that. So did that mean Sayuri was going to play?

"Female Student No. 2, Fujikage Himiko-san."

There was no movement. Himiko's corpse was unmoving, her blood oozing out onto the floor. Keiko let out a dry sob and turned away, almost nuzzling Shogo's chest. It was a very inappropriate time to enjoy this—but hey, he was a teenage boy with an attractive girl, who just so happened to be the girl he liked, in his arms. He _was_ human, after all.

"Sorry about that," said Mariko casually. "The video was pre-made. Carry on."

"Male Student No. 3, Arakawa Tadayuki-kun."

Tadayuki slowly rose, every inch of self-confidence still intact. He grabbed his bag and received his day pack, then made a nodding sort of motion at his friends. Hiro, Keisuke, and Yamato nodded back. Was that a signal? Would Tadayuki be waiting for them outside?

"Female Student No. 3, Harada Hitomi-san."

"Here!" Hitomi called out, hurrying forward to claim her bags. She still seemed a bit shaky, but her face had the same confident look Akimoto Sayuri's did when she left.

"Male Student No. 4, Asari Yoshio-kun."

As Yoshio stumbled forward to get his bags, Shogo pondered who of his classmates would be willing to play this game. Kawagishi, maybe. Akimoto? Again, maybe. Omura Yumiko, Kawagishi's right hand in the gang, was tough-hearted enough for Shogo to consider her a threat. What about Kawai? Was he all talk and no walk, like his follower Aizawa? Or was he a threat too?

"Female Student No. 4, Hayashida Kaoru-san."

Kaoru squeezed Keiko's shoulder as she got up, and discreetly touched Chiyo's hand as she left. "Take care," whispered Miyazaki Sakura.

"Male Student No. 5, Funaki Yutaka-kun."

Funaki clumsily grabbed for his bags, and when his day pack was tossed at him, he missed it. He dove for it and scrambled out of the classroom, shooting frightened looks at his classmates as he fled.

"Female Student No. 5, Ichiyusai Masako-san."

Masako gave her boyfriend, Kuramoto Daisuke, a hug, and whispered something. It might have been, "I'll see you there," but Shogo couldn't tell. Daisuke gently tucked a strand of Masako's hair behind her ear and gave her an encouraging smile.

"Hey, Ichiyusai, hurry it up, will you?"

Masako took her schoolbag and stepped forward, her head held high. She caught her day pack and swept out of the classroom twice as regally as Akimoto Sayuri had only moments before, shooting the soldiers a disdainful sneer that one normally reserves for something nasty stuck to one's shoe.

The roll call continued. Goto Masao, Iesada Chiaki, Hideki Saburo, Kawasaki Ai, Hiraoka Mitsuru, Kihara Etsuko, Inoue Ichisake, and Kitano Kanako all left without incident. When Hiro's name was called, he nodded at Keisuke, Yamato, and Shogo, then grabbed his things and hurriedly left.

Soon, after Koizumi Chiyo left the room, Shogo's name was called.

"Male Student No. 11, Kawada Shogo-kun."

"I'll wait for you," Shogo muttered quietly in Keiko's ear. "Be careful." He gently kissed her right temple, then stood and picked up his schoolbag. He calmly caught his day pack and left the classroom, slinging both bags over his shoulders.

Keiko, still kneeling on the ground, watched him go, her face deadened and expressionless.

The hall was unlit, although there was a long line of soldiers all the way until the school exit, presumably to prevent anyone from waiting in the hallway. Shogo hurried out, his back prickling uncomfortably as he felt the stares of the soldiers.

Directly outside the school was a wide baseball diamond, for the country's 'national pastime'. Off to the other side was a pathway edged with trees and bushes. The path broke off into two dirt roads, both leading into the woods.

"Hey, Shogo," someone whispered his name.

From behind one of the trees, Arakawa Tadayuki poked his head out. "Come on, get over here," he hissed.

Shogo quickly went down the pathway and slipped into the woods. Tadayuki was there, but also hidden in the shadows were Asari Yoshio, Itagaki Hiro, Hayashida Kaoru, and Kawasaki Ai.

"Hey, where's Kihara? And Kitano?" Shogo asked.

"They ran off at top speed," Kaoru tearfully sniffed. "We called them, but I guess they must have thought we were someone else, because they didn't look back and even picked up their speed."

Well, Shogo mused, at least they're together.

"Who's still inside?" asked Hiro. By 'who', Shogo assumed he meant who of their friends was inside, who was still inside that they could trust. He hated that he was falling into the mindset of this fucked up game, but it could not be helped. Here, it was kill or be killed.

"Keisuke," answered Shogo. "Yamato. Miyazaki and Keiko. We might be able to trust Miyamoto and Shimizu. Yamamura too, but I think she'd want to hook up with Funaki and Iesada. Daisuke is still inside, but he'll definitely want to meet up with Ichiyusai. We might be able to trust Yoshifumi, but I'm not too sure."

"Let's wait for them before we make our move," Tadayuki decided. "We have thirty minutes before the school becomes a danger zone, so let's make sure we're out of here by then."

The silence was thick as the group settled down to wait for their other friends to come out. Before they could call out to Miyamoto Fuyumi, though, she ran off at top speed, like Kihara Etsuko and Kitano Kanako earlier on, shooting panicked glances over her shoulder as she went. The next person to come after her was Kawagishi Seishiro, but nobody trusted the teenaged gangster enough to call out to him.

They managed to call out to Miyazaki Sakura on her way out. She dashed into the woods and collapsed in Ai's arms, crying her eyes out, her hand over her mouth to stop the sounds of her sobs from reaching others.

Kawai Noboru passed them, swearing under his breath as he rifled through his day pack, searching for his weapon. Trusting Itagaki Hiro was about to call out to him, when Tadayuki and Shogo pulled him back.

"As much as I hate to say this," said Shogo grimly, "there's no guarantee we can trust someone like Kawai."

After Kawai, the top female member of Kawagishi's gang, Omura Yumiko, stepped outside. She darted behind a clump of bushes and stayed there until Kuramoto Daisuke came out. Shogo and Tadayuki exchanged glances, wondering whether to call out to Daisuke or not, but with someone as risky and untrustworthy as Omura Yumiko nearby, they decided not to give away their positions.

Then, suddenly, Yumiko came out of the bushes. She stared at the portion of the forest where Kuramoto Daisuke had run off to. "Just as well," Shogo heard her mutter. "He's too crazy about Ichiyusai anyway." Then she hid herself again in the bushes.

Not long after Daisuke had disappeared, Keiko came out of the school, suspiciously studying her surroundings as if looking for enemies hiding in the shadows. Her schoolbag and day pack were slung over her shoulder. She'd already wiped Himiko's blood and her own tears from her face.

"Onuki? Is that you?" Yumiko called out in a pitiful, terrified voice. She stepped out of the bushes and ran to Keiko, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. "Oh—thank God! You're okay, right? You wouldn't dream of killing me, right? I was so afraid—"

But before she could continue, Keiko stepped back and removed something that had been tucked into the waistband of her skirt. She raised it and pointed it at Yumiko. In the pale light of the moon Shogo could see it was a gun.

"Save the drama for someone who'll actually fall for it, Omura," said Keiko, in a quiet, calm voice.

"What? You think I'm actually _playing?_" sobbed Yumiko, never once breaking character. "How…how could you, Keiko? I know—I know I don't have a good reputation around school but…but…you're talking about killing off classmates here! I could _never_ do that!"

"Wow, Yumiko, what a great performance. Your best one yet, I think," said Keiko sarcastically. "Just step off and leave me alone, okay? Why don't you try your tricks on the next guy to come out, huh?"

"I can't stand this," whispered Sakura. "Why is Keiko being so mean to Yumiko? I'm gonna go talk to them."

"No, Saki, don't move!" hissed Kaoru, and pulled Sakura back.

It was just in time too, because while Yumiko had been distracting Keiko with her tears, her hand had crept to the waistband of her skirt, where she'd tucked in her own weapon. Keiko, apparently having seen Yumiko's hands move, darted off into the woods, quickly vanishing from sight. She took the same path Daisuke had, which led away from the group's hiding place.

Yumiko chased after Keiko and fired off one shot from her into the brush. She stopped just before entering the woods, apparently deciding that Keiko was not worth her bullets. "Damn it," she muttered. Then, angrily, she shouldered her bags and took off, not wanting to risk an encounter with another player.

Shogo had already gotten up to go after Keiko, but Tadayuki pulled him back. "Hang on a minute," he said. "I've checked the map. There's a small farm on the outskirts of the residential area. When you've got Keiko, go meet us there. Yoshio, Hiro, go ahead and take the girls there. I'll stay here and wait for Keisuke and Yamato."

"But—" Kawasaki Ai protested.

"No buts," said Tadayuki firmly. "As Omura has proved, it's too dangerous for a great number of people to be waiting out here. What if another group discovers us? Another group that happens to be playing?"

Ai had no answer.

"All right," said Shogo. "I'll meet you at the farmhouse." He took off in the direction Keiko had fled, all the while praying to whoever was listening up there that she was all right, that she was okay. I'm going to protect you, Keiko, he thought grimly to himself. If I have to die doing it I'm going to protect you, no matter what!

**Game Begins, 1:00 A.M., May 21****st**

**Female Student No. 2 Fujikage Himiko, dead**

**39 students remaining**


End file.
